Akali panchayat member held for smuggling drugs
Faridkot, November 15
There were cases of drug smugglers using the red-beacon lights on their SUVs and cars to transport the narcotics but with the recovery of 80 bags of poppy husk from an Akali panchayat member in the Bajhakhana area of Faridkot today, the police has confronted a new modus operandi — a smuggler using his photographs with the ruling party leaders to display his “high political connections” to influence the police.

Police with the arrested panchayat member Mohal Singh and his nephew Amarjit Singh. A Tribune photograph

Moga admn fails to ‘obey’ court orders in dera dispute
Moga, November 15
The Moga district administration seems to be helpless in providing the possession of a dera and its 16 acres of land to Mahant Tarsem Dass, a legal heir of Mohamtim of Udassi Dera Mohan Sabha Pacham Pangat of Vaddhe Akhara at Kapure village probably due to a nexus between politicians and the local police who are helping an illegal occupant Jarnail Dass to continue his hold on the disputed property despite court orders to evict him.

Oral polio vaccination drive launched
Ferozpur, November 15
It’s not just the cross-border smuggling and infiltration of drugs, arms and ammunition that is always keeping the security agencies on the Indian side on alert.

Pharmacist’ protest rally deferred
Fazilka, November 15
The Sangharsh Committee, Punjab State Pharmacists Association, state unit, has decided to defer the proposed protest rally at Bathinda from November 16 to November 24. This was disclosed by the state convener Ravinder Luthra and the Punjab State Pharmacists Association, district Fazilka and Ferozepur president, Shashi Kant, here today. They said the decision had been taken in light of assurance by the highly placed sources in the government regarding acceptance of their demands.

Farmers, labourers up in arms
Bathinda, November 15
The morcha, to be launched from November 22 at the 'Matka Chowk' in Chandigarh by the 17 farmer-labourer organisations, would end when all the demands of the farmers and labourers would be fulfilled.

BSP meeting
Bathinda, November 15
National general secretary of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Narinder Kashyap and the state president Avtar Singh Karimpuri today held a zone-level meeting with the office-bearers of the party from four districts,
Bathinda, Moga, Mansa and Faridkot, at the Teachers’ Home here.

Faridkot, November 15
There were cases of drug smugglers using the red-beacon lights on their SUVs and cars to transport the narcotics but with the recovery of 80 bags of poppy husk from an Akali panchayat member in the Bajhakhana area of Faridkot today, the police has confronted a new modus operandi — a smuggler using his photographs with the ruling party leaders to display his “high political connections” to influence the police.

Working on a tip-off, a joint team of the Bajhakhana and the Kotkapura police today arrested Mohla Singh and his nephew Amarjit Singh, residents of Rode village of Moga district, for smuggling 50 bags of poppy husk in a trolley.

The trolley used to smuggle the poppy husk was camouflaged as a wheat husk transporting vehicle. After the recovery of poppy husk, the interrogation of the arrested persons led the police further to recover 30 bags of poppy husk from their residence at Rode village, said Sat Pal Singh Sidhu, SSP Faridkot.

The accused Mohal Singh is already facing a narcotics smuggling case after he was nabbed with 28 kg of poppy husk five years back. He was out on bail in that case, said Manoj Kumar, SHO Bajhakhana. While the police are investigating the case, the sources revealed that the accused were in drug smuggling activity for many years and almost everyone in Rode and the adjoining villages know about their alleged illegal act.

Besides his connections with some police officials, the accused used to flaunt his political connections, displaying his photographs with some senior Akali and the Congress party leaders.

Police sources said the accused was getting the supply of drug consignments from two persons of an adjoining village and these persons were further procuring the drugs from Madhya
Pradesh.

Moga, November 15
The Moga district administration seems to be helpless in providing the possession of a dera and its 16 acres of land to Mahant Tarsem Dass, a legal heir of Mohamtim of Udassi Dera Mohan Sabha Pacham Pangat of Vaddhe Akhara at Kapure village probably due to a nexus between politicians and the local police who are helping an illegal occupant Jarnail Dass to continue his hold on the disputed property despite court orders to evict him.

Interestingly, the administration has “cleverly” handed over the delivery of possession of the dera land to Tarsem Dass on paper only following a civil court decree in his favour but the ground reality is that the illegal
occupants still continue to hold control over the disputed land under political patronage.

The district magistrate Ashok Singla, while taking up the issue on the directions of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, has recently issued fresh orders to the police and the revenue authorities to deliver the possession of the land to Tarsem Dass and provide him security, besides, providing police force to him to harvest the paddy crop sown in 16 acres of the dera land.

The SSP Sneh Deep Sharma while complying with the orders of the district magistrate has deputed two cops on security with him but the revenue authorities are still dilly-dallying to provide the possession of the disputed land to him. “The revenue authorities seems to be under the pressure of their political bosses, therefore, they are helping the illegal occupants”, Tarsem Dass has alleged.

The High Court on May 6, 2009 ordered the delivery of possession of the suit property in favour of Tarsem Dass who brought into the notice of the court that the police authorities in connivance with the illegal occupants were threatening him with dire consequences if he tries to enter the disputed property.

When the administration failed to comply with these orders, Tarsem Dass again moved a petition in the High Court, in which, Justice Surya Kant on April 6, 2011 directed to the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police, Moga to take immediate appropriate remedial steps to ensure that no law and order problem is created by anyone by taking the law in their hands.

“It is further directed that the civil court decree, subject to its attaining finality, shall be complied with in accordance with law.”

Ferozpur, November 15
It’s not just the cross-border smuggling and infiltration of drugs, arms and ammunition that is always keeping the security agencies on the Indian side on alert.

The health authorities are also alarmed about the transmission of the deadly wild poliovirus (WPV) which they feel might make its way into India through Pakistan as there are several polio cases still existing in our neighboring country.

Already, the genetic linkage of the polio virus in China has been traced back to the virus circulating in Pakistan, revealed officials in the health department, following which transit immunisation teams have been stationed at the Wagah interface in Amritsar to ensure the vaccination of children crossing over to India from Pakistan.

Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa, Deputy Director (MCS), said though only one case of WPV has been detected in Howrah (West Bengal) in India during the current year, the health authorities were treading with utmost concern to eradicate this disease completely from the map of the country.

Dr Randhawa said that there was a risk of both virus persistence and further virus movement in migrant, mobile and underserved communities for which a three day special oral polio vaccination, drive has been launched throughout the state under supervision of the World Health Organisation (WHO) teams to prevent inflow of polio virus through migratory polulation in the state.

Fazilka, November 15
The Sangharsh Committee, Punjab State Pharmacists Association, state unit, has decided to defer the proposed protest rally at Bathinda from November 16 to November 24. This was disclosed by the state convener Ravinder Luthra and the Punjab State Pharmacists Association, district Fazilka and Ferozepur president, Shashi Kant, here today. They said the decision had been taken in light of assurance by the highly placed sources in the government regarding acceptance of their demands.

Luthra and Kant said the Sangharsh Committee would wait for about a week. Otherwise, the 2,200 pharmacists working in state health department would again take mass casual leave on November 24 and would stage the protest rally at Bathinda.
— OC

Bathinda, November 15
The morcha, to be launched from November 22 at the 'Matka Chowk' in Chandigarh by the 17 farmer-labourer organisations, would end when all the demands of the farmers and labourers would be fulfilled.

Stating this today, the district president of the Bharatiya Kishan Union (Ugrahan) Shingara Singh Mann further said the SAD-BJP government had failed in fulfilling promises that had been made during the previous assembly and parliamentary elections. The demands, included Rs 5 lakh compensation along with government job to each family whose member had committed suicide, etc.
— TNS

Bathinda, November 15
National general secretary of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Narinder Kashyap and the state president Avtar Singh Karimpuri today held a zone-level meeting with the office-bearers of the party from four districts, Bathinda, Moga, Mansa and Faridkot, at the Teachers’ Home here.

The meeting aimed at preparating for coming assembly polls and holding a ‘Sattah Parivartan rally’ at Bathinda on November 27. The zone in-charge SR Mallian, secretary Ajmer Singh and district president Major Singh were present.
— TNS